New to Netflix today is the apocalyptic thriller, Leave the World Behind. The movie – written and directed by Sam Esmail – is based on the book of the same name by Rumaan Alam, and stars Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, and Kevin Bacon.
In the film, husband and wife duo Clay and Amanda Sandford take their two children on vacation to a beautiful house in the countryside. With stunning interiors, an outdoor pool, and picturesque surroundings, it is the perfect getaway spot for those looking to kick back and relax.
But their seemingly idyllic holiday is interrupted when the owner of the house and his daughter show up unannounced. They claim they were out for the evening before a blackout interrupted their plans, and they need somewhere to sleep for the night.
Amanda is instantly uncomfortable with the idea of sharing the house with anyone else, especially after she rented it for her family, but husband Clay is less concerned. The owner – G.H. Scott – offers to refund 50% of the rental fee, and this seems more than acceptable to Clay.
However, in the midst of their conversation the discussion is interrupted by a warning alert coming from the television. While all technology is down due to the blackout, the TV is operating on a different frequency and is transmitting a message stating the country is experiencing a state of national emergency.
The next morning Amanda wakes up to news alerts on her phone which suggest hackers are responsible for the current problems. But what is really happening to the outside world and do the Scotts know more than they are letting on?
From the moment Leave the World Behind begins, the movie has a way of drawing in its audience. The combination of the film’s premise, its central characters, and its ominous tone, all work together in perfect harmony to create an intriguing set-up.
The film then builds upon this initial groundwork by injecting mystery and suspense into proceedings, to create tension, paranoia, and escalation. The more drama that is thrown at the screen, and the more bizarre, end-of-the-world scenarios that are served up, the bigger and more unsettling the story becomes.
Most thrillers would then buckle under their own weight and fall apart pretty quickly, yet Leave the World Behind manages to keep going and buck the trend. The film moves past the halfway point with its momentum intact, and it remains interesting as it heads into the climax.
Of course, with so much set-up and escalation, the conclusion is not quite able to compete with what came before, because expectations are now too high. However, by the time the ending comes around there is enough investment to gloss over any shortcomings, so a slightly fudged finale doesn’t ruin an otherwise entertaining picture.
Leave the World Behind benefits from a smart script and even smarter direction, as well as some strong performances from the cast. Ethan Hawke and Mahershala Ali are great in the picture, playing Clay and G.H. Scott respectively, while Julia Roberts is superb as Amanda.
There is a hard edge to Amanda, she is a very distrustful person, and occasionally she is unlikeable. Roberts taps into this effortlessly, completely throwing herself into the character, and she delivers a performance which really connects with the tone of the film.
Regardless of what is happening in the movie, from plane clashes and car pile-ups, to a tense stand-off with a survivalist, it’s the central cast who become the big draw. There are a few moments of spectacle, as the world is thrown into turmoil, but the focus on characterisation and strong actors is where this film really excels.
At times Leave the World Behind is reminiscent of M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin, which was released earlier this year. Both films shame similar ideas and themes, both offer up superb, focused direction, and both are bolstered by their cast.
The two films also share another thing in common: They both struggle to stick the landing. However, this isn’t as big a problem as one might expect, and if you like Knock at the Cabin and films of this ilk, then you should find Leave the World Behind equally as interesting.
While not perfect, Leave the World Behind is a strong film that gets far more right than it gets wrong. It could do with a few extra minutes to bring things to a close in a better way, but it is good stuff and far better than some of the usual rubbish that is being served up on Netflix as of late.
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